The UFC’s Canadian office was hit by massive layoffs on Wednesday, with an estimated 80% of the Toronto employees being let go.

Most prominent among the Canadian layoffs was Tom Wright, the UFC’s executive vice president and general manager of operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

While Wright was never the most outspoken executive on the UFC’s payroll, the former CFL commissioner played a massive part in the company’s international expansion and will go down as one of the more influential figures in Canadian mixed martial arts.

His time with the UFC began in 2010, and during Wright’s six years with the company he was instrumental in helping get MMA legalized in Ontario, paving the way for multiple events in Toronto and Ottawa.

He’d later help bring UFC shows to new Canadian markets including Halifax, Calgary and Saskatoon, and was heavily involved in the company’s expansion into the Canadian market.

Wright’s firing was just the latest in a series of layoffs by the UFC, which was bought by WME-IMG in the summer for US$4 billion.

On Tuesday, layoffs hit the UFC’s Las Vegas office, as well as departments in Europe, Brazil and Latin America, with sources telling MMAFighting.com that between 60 and 80 employees would be let go by the company.

As the layoffs were happening on Tuesday, UFC staff — including Wright — were busy making the media rounds in Toronto with Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson, who will headline UFC 206 at the Air Canada Centre in December.

GETTING UGLY

Only two days after Georges St. Pierre publicly declared himself a ‘free agent,’ his lawyer spoke with MMAFighting.com about the Canadian fighter’s situation.

The UFC made it clear in a statement Monday night that the company still considered St. Pierre to be under contract to fight with them, but attorney James Quinn was bullish when he spoke to the website about his client’s future.

Quinn, of New York Firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges, referred to St. Pierre’s contract with the UFC as being “something out of the 1940s.”

“They’re basically tying him up for life,” Quinn said. “They have no rights and they own all of his licensing and all the other things. It’s unheard of in the other professional sports and they won’t get away with it forever.”

Quinn has significant experience dealing with professional sports organizations, as he has been involved in cases with both the NFL and NBA.

While the public nature of St. Pierre’s declaration suggests it’s unlikely he’ll ever fight with the UFC again, Quinn said the relationship between the two sides could be repaired, at least from St. Pierre’s view.

NOTHING’S CHANGED

A couple weeks ago, Jose Aldo said he wanted to be released from his contract with the UFC and that he was finished with fighting professionally.

On Wednesday, the longtime featherweight champion met with UFC officials in Las Vegas but came out of the meeting insisting that he hadn’t had a change of heart.

“I always had my mind made up,” Aldo told MMAJunkie.com. “When I said something, it was never a bluff. I have an idea in my head and it’s what I always wanted.

“It’s what we talked about, there was no offer, nothing to think. I just gave my point of view. The esteem that I have for them and that they have for me is cool, but I think we need to go our own ways.”

Aldo initially chose to walk away from the sport after being promised a rematch with 145-pound king Conor McGregor, who knocked the Brazilian out in 13 seconds when they fought last December.

Aldo beat Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight belt at UFC 200 in July, but instead of booking a match between McGregor and Aldo, the UFC opted to pit the Irishman against Eddie Alvarez in a lightweight title fight at next month’s UFC 205 card in New York City.

AROUND THE OCTAGON

Canadian Alexis Davis is set to return to the UFC in December. The women’s bantamweight contender was ranked in the top-5 last year, but took an 18-month break from the sport to have her first child. She’ll take on Sara McMann at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale on Dec. 3 … It has been rumoured for weeks, but Bellator formally announced that Chael Sonnen will be making his debut in the promotion in a fight with Tito Ortiz on Jan. 21 in Los Angeles. Neither guy is a top-10 fighter anymore, but they’re big names and make no mistake, this is a big fight …. Urijah Faber is set to fight Brad Pickett in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif., on Dec. 17, and don’t be surprised to hear plenty of speculation about it being the last time Faber fights professionally. The guy’s got plenty of opportunities outside of fighting, and there will be lots of people hoping he pursues those options instead of continuing to take damage in the octagon.